Playing with your hair can be a sign that you feel anxious or bored, which means it's important to deal with the cause rather than take it out on your hair. If you're feeling anxious, there are many calming techniques you could try.
Trichotillomania (trik-o-til-o-MAY-nee-uh), also called hair-pulling disorder, is a mental disorder that involves recurrent, irresistible urges to pull out hair from your scalp, eyebrows or other areas of your body, despite trying to stop.
Hair-Pulling Disorder is considered an OCD Related Disorder, although it has also been conceptualized as an impulse control disorder. The typical onset of Hair-Pulling Disorder is between the ages of 9-13, although this behavior had been observed in small children and even infants.
"We mainly see it in children," Simone adds, "but adults are known to do this, too." According to trichologist Stephanie Sey, hair twirling is a fairly common habit. "Twirling can be done for a number of reasons, from simple boredom to relieving stress or anxiety," she says.
A knee bounce or a hair twirl pops up for different reasons: studies show stimming helps give an extra spark to assist ADHD brain wiring and more accurate responses. While more prevalent in ADHD and autism, engaging in stimming isn't exclusive to either.
Some habits (such as thumb suck- ing or hair twirling) are similar to tics but don't develop as suddenly. Some tics need to be evalu- ated to be sure they are not really seizures. One possible diagnosis is Tourette's syndrome, a complicated type of tic disorder that is usually life- long.
Most people who play with their hair (or tap pens or jiggle their legs) do it to relax or expend excess energy, not because they're anxious. As a child, I twirled if I was tired; it was repetitive, and I found it calming.
There's a number of triggers that may set you off into touching your hair such as nervousness, stress and anxiety. Understanding these triggers is crucial and a good way to snap out of this habit. If you're dealing with anxiety for instance, you can try some calming breathing exercises or speak to someone about it.
There is nothing wrong with setting your hair in place now and then. Still, if you touch your hair frequently all the time, this may be a symptom of anxiety disorder and can develop into trichotillomania – compulsive hair pulling that causes visible hair loss.
Trichotillomania is characterized by repetitive hair pulling, twisting, or twirling and can vary from a mild habit to an impulse-control disorder.
Drumming your leg when you're bored, biting your nails when you're nervous, or twirling your hair for the fun of it – that's what's known as stimming.
Human contact causes the body to react by reducing cortisol levels, which “can lower blood pressure and reduce heart rate, all of which reduce stress and have beneficial impacts on our overall well-being and mood,” says Williams.
If you happen to have the kind of hair that sheds excessively, you should avoid running your fingers through it whenever possible. Each time you run your fingers through your hair, you're potentially pulling more out of their follicles.
Excessive hair touching is a repetitive and addictive habit that can be extremely hard to stop and can lead to Trichotillomania - a hair pulling disorder. Many women who's hands are always buried in their hair, typically suffer from very dry ends, oily roots, hair loss and poor overall hair condition.
When it comes to hair pulling, you might find a certain texture of hair that you are over responsive to and that excites the need to pull. Dr. Miletic suggests that sensory discrimination might play a role too. A hair that feels different might be misinterpreted as a hair that needs to be pulled.
Fortunately, hair twirling is less serious, though can still cause worry. For a child, the act of coiling hair around a finger and pulling it in a circle (twirling) is fairly common. Twirling is considered part of a group of habits known as fidgets – and that, of course, includes thumb sucking!
Trichotillomania is a strong habit that causes people to pull out their own hair. They may pull hairs from their scalp, eyebrows, eyelashes, or pubic area. People may pull out a few hairs at once or one strand at a time. Some may look at, play with, chew, or eat the hair after pulling it out.
“Stimming” refers to self-stimulating behavior, which are repetitive physical or verbal tics common in individuals with autism. To some degree, we all exhibit stimming behaviors. Nail biting, twirling your hair, drumming your fingers on the table, or cracking your knuckles are all forms of stimming.
Nervous energy: Hair twirling can be a self-soothing mechanism, especially in situations that induce nervousness or anxiety. It offers a way to release pent-up tension and provide temporary comfort. Flirting and seduction: Playing with hair can be an intentional flirtatious gesture.
What your body language says: “Twirling the hair is a cue of innocence. Women often employ hair twirling as a way to flirt. Of course, twirling the hair also feels good, so we do it at times when we are preoccupied as a means of relaxing.
Stimming can take many different forms: visual: staring off into space, drawing, spinning things like pens or coins. verbal/auditory: repeating sounds, excessive giggling, constantly clearing throat. tactile: rubbing fingers, chewing/biting nails, chewing the inside of cheeks.